Tips For Permanent Weight Loss

Weight loss can be confusing and downright scary. I know this from personal experience. Six Years ago I weighed 109kg. I was depressed and ashamed of what I saw staring back at me in the mirror. Today I am a fit and healthy 64kg. Fitness, nutrition and weight loss has become my passion and I am pleased to share with you some of my best tips for permanent weight loss.

We should never underestimate the power of setting goals. It is without a doubt one of the best tools when it comes to weight loss. Writing down and reviewing our goals daily gives our subconscious mind commands. If these commands are repeated often enough and with enough passion and desire, it will bring them into being.

Setting goals will not only give you the power to achieve your weight loss but also to achieve anything you want from life, whether it be family, career, finance, adventure or education. You hold the power in your mind and believe me it does work!!

A clean, healthy nutrition plan plays a major part when it comes to weight loss. You often hear people say "I can eat whatever I like because I exercise" but the truth is that no amount of exercise can undo a bad diet.

You want to try to eliminate all processed and refined foods, that is anything that comes in a box or can, white products such as white bread and white pasta and refined sugars found in sweets and breakfast cereals etc.

A good nutrition plan should consist of plenty of fibrous carbohydrates, that is vegetables and fruit, lean protein such as chicken breast, lean beef, fish and eggs and complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, oats, millet and whole grain bread. It is also very important that good fats such as olive oil, almonds, flax seeds and fish oil make up at least 20%-30% of our diet. The good fats, believe it or not, actually assist our body with losing weight.

I hear you screaming now "Won't I ever be able to eat the foods I love?" Yes you can, in moderation. I think we would all go crazy if we couldn't cheat every now and then, that is why I follow the 90/10 rule. Follow your nutrition plan 90% of the time and allow yourself a cheat meal 10% of the time. So for example, I eat 6 meals a day, 7 days a week which equals 42 meals for the week. This allows me to cheat 4 times a week. You will still see amazing results with your weight loss and keep your sanity at the same time.

Frequent small meals provides a number of benefits to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

• Eating six small meals a day boosts your metabolism sending it into overdrive, so your body becomes extremely efficient at burning off calories.
• It cuts out the need or want for snacking. Eating regularly reduces your hunger pangs.
• Infrequent meals puts our bodies into starvation mode, storing calories as fat because it is not sure when the next meal will be coming.
• Frequent meals allows for more efficient use of vitamins and minerals. Your body becomes more effective at processing these vital nutrients.
• Regular small meals helps promote muscle growth by delivering a steady output of insulin.

This then leads us on to the next tip.

Weight training has so many beneficial advantages when it comes to weight loss , the list is seemingly endless. So I will list a few to show you why adding weight training to your exercise regime can accelerate your fat loss.

• Weight training tones the body, giving you better shape and definition. Not only do you want to be healthy but you also want to tone up those flabby bits.
• Extra muscle helps to burn more fat. It takes more energy to maintain muscle leaving fewer excess calories lying around to turn into fat.
• You will have increased strength and balance because the joints and muscles work more efficiently together.
• Losing weight by calorie restriction alone can produce a decline in bone density, so by adding weight training it helps to maintain bone density while you lose those unwanted kilos.
• *For the ladies* it is impossible for women to become "hulk like" because we do not produce the levels of testosterone that men do. Muscle takes up less space than fat, so when you add muscle you end up with a smaller, leaner, more defined body that you will be proud to show off in a bikini.

Now in this day and age it can be hard to fit exercise into your already hectic schedule, what with work, looking after the kids, housework etc. If you can fit in 30 minutes of exercise, 3 - 4 days a week you will begin to notice remarkable changes in no time at all.

This would have to be one of the most important tips of all. The advantages of drinking water not only for your weight loss but for your wellbeing cannot be overemphasized.

Water plays a key role in:

• Maintaining muscle tone
• Weight loss
• Clear healthy skin
• Preventing joint pain
• Increasing energy levels
• Flushing toxins from your body
• Aiding in the digestion and absorption of food

Aim to drink at least 3 litres of water a day. I know this sounds like a lot but trust me, you will truly feel the benefits.

Losing weight can be difficult and very daunting, it is even harder if you are trying to do it on your own.Tell your friends and family what you are doing and ask for their support. You will be amazed at what you can achieve when you have your own fan club cheering you on.

Online weight loss forums are also an excellent way to get the support you need. There you will find hundreds of people in the same boat, so not only will you be getting their support but you will be giving the same back. The online forums are also full of helpful tips to keep you motivated and low fat diet friendly recipes.

Just remember, you are never on your own, there is always somebody out there who believes in you.

And finally, last but difinately not least

There will be days when you feel like giving up, days when you just don't feel like exercising and days where you "fall off the wagon". I know, because I have been there but don't give up, jump straight back on that wagon.

One nutritional slip-up or one missed workout is not going to undo all of the hard work you have already put in. Remind yourself why you are doing this, because YOU ARE WORTH IT. You deserve to be happy and healthy, for yourself and for your family.

Persistence is the key. Those little baby steps you take every day are moving you closer and closer to your goal. You can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Enjoy yourself, be happy and most of all remember to love yourself.